Mehta: Sam Darnold's comeback win will cost Jets in draft, but was it worth it?

Nothing screams Jets like a good ol’ fashioned tank-a-thon during the holiday season, but the Gang Green crazies shouldn’t be heartbroken over their tumbling 2019 draft position in the wake of Sunday’s win over the Bills.

Truth be told, every smart Jets fan knows that every single December win could cause irreparable damage to the long-term health of the franchise given that they’re already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

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A loss to the Bills would have put the Jets in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The victory dropped them to No. 5 with three games left in this interminable season.

Wins, frankly, are evil at this point… unless they unfold like they did in Buffalo on Sunday.

The only way that a victory should be celebrated by Jets fans right now is if Sam Darnold has a significant hand in it.

The worst kind of win would be one on the backs of a lights-out defensive effort and killer run game. Those matter to players and coaches, but ring hollow for a starved fan base that craves improvement from the most important piece to this puzzle.

So, fans should rejoice that Darnold’s fingerprints were all over the victory that snapped a six-game losing streak. The rookie displayed all the elements that made him a coveted prospect entering the league.

Darnold used his elusiveness, poise, smarts, resilience, toughness and improvisational magic to rally the Jets to their first win in nearly two months.

So, if the Jets insist on winning at this point, that’s the way to do it.

“Like we’ve said from Day 1, he has the right makeup,” veteran Josh McCown said. “Those are the things that you look for and you want in a quarterback that’s going to lead your franchise for a long time. Today was a glimpse of that. But it’s just a step.”

It’s those types of steps that make it easier to swallow wins. It’s kind of sad when victories can be viewed as detrimental, but that’s the reality of the state of this franchise. We’re through the looking glass here, people. White is black and black is white.

Todd Bowles rightfully couldn’t care less about the perception among a segment of the fan base that would prefer if the Jets didn’t adversely affect their 2019 draft positioning by winning.

“I don’t think much of it,” Bowles said Monday. “I just try to win ball games.”

Changes are on the horizon for this wayward outfit, so winning games now will be particularly annoying when the draft positions are set in stone in three weeks.

Can you imagine if beating the Bills on Sunday cost the Jets a chance to get Ohio State elite pass rusher Nick Bosa? That would be cruel and unusual punishment.

The 6-3, 263-pound Bosa, who racked up 17½ sacks in a little over two seasons, has the makings of being a game wrecker of the highest order at a position of great need for Gang Green.

What if the Jets just squandered their chance at Bosa with their fourth win of a lost season?

The Jets' win on Sunday over the Bills may have cost them a chance to draft elite pass rusher, Ohio State's Nick Bosa, in April. (Jay LaPrete / AP)

It’s impossible to know how the final three weeks will unfold, but the Jets are currently behind the 49ers, Cardinals, Raiders and Falcons in the draft order. Had they lost to the Bills, and then lost out, the Jets would have had the inside track for the top overall pick due to tiebreakers after the Niners and Raiders, who both won on Sunday.

The Jets would take Bosa with the No. 1 overall pick in a heartbeat. A scan of the current Top 10 teams in the 2019 draft reveals only three teams that could use a quarterback (Jaguars, Buccaneers and Giants), who currently sit at Nos. 7-9.

It’s extremely unlikely that the Jaguars, Bucs or Giants would back up the Brinks truck to move up to No. 1 for Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert. So it’s not as if those three teams would be a realistic trade partner with the Jets, who would be clinically insane to pass on Bosa anyway.

The smart move would be to stay at No. 1 and take Bosa.

So, was Darnold’s magical fourth quarter worth it?

Jets fans and brass got a window into their future. Darnold can use moments like this to springboard him into 2019. It gives him confidence that he can make it happen. And confidence is king.

There were no guarantees that the Jets would get Bosa even if they lost in Buffalo.